I’m thankful that God gave me a good opportunity and the means to return home to Alaska. Every day, I look around outside and find another reason to say, “Wow! It is SO good to be home!”

I’m thankful for the way my parents raised me. I was taught to respect them above every other thing I learned as a child. I learned honesty, determination, persistence, good manners, patriotism, faith, patience, willingness to serve and work, and how good it was to laugh a lot.

I’m thankful that I was born an American. I plan to do everything I can to make sure my grandchildren can say the same thing when they are my age. And I thank God every day for the dedication, honor, bravery, and sacrifice of every person in uniform, wherever they are stationed. Lately, they have had the most thankless task in the world. Pray for them.

I am thankful that I had thirty years with a real man’s man, one who was kind, loving, faithful, hard-working and pious. He taught me a lot of things about life. He was a superior blessing in my life.

I’m thankful for my children and my grandchildren. If it’s true that children keep one young, they are going to be keeping me frisky for a long time. I learned how to pass on what my parents taught me, and also how to live on my own. I learned how to take responsibility for the lives entrusted to me. I learned to be patient with their mischief, and to laugh at it later. They have been extraordinary gifts to me.

I am thankful for my faith, and the things the Catholic Church has taught me. I am grateful for the peace and stability it has brought to my sometimes crazy life. I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to experience life in many different parishes and to realize that although the Church is composed of sinners, it is in the business of making saints.

I’m even thankful for the internet, because it has shown me the way to find my own information, and has become my big “free university of the web.” I’m grateful for all the friends I’ve made online, and for the chance to share my ideas and questions with many people around the country without ever having to leave my chair.

I’m thankful for my life. I’ve been close enough to death’s door a couple of times to know I need to cherish every moment given to me. I know it is not MY life, but HIS, and I thank Him for every moment. God is good, and I am blessed.

We have a lot to be thankful for this year. First there was THIS,and, then, there was THIS!

THIS IS THE PUMPKIN PIE and here’s the whipped cream…!

Oh, My! Is it Christmas already??

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

GLOBAL WARMING HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE A HOAX FROM THE GET-GO.
GLOBAL WARMING HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE A HOAX FROM THE GET-GO.
GLOBAL WARMING HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE A HOAX FROM THE GET-GO.
GLOBAL WARMING HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE A HOAX FROM THE GET-GO.
GLOBAL WARMING HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE A HOAX FROM THE GET-GO.

Now. Can we get back to being rational about drilling for oil?

Here’s a link to an article I wrote a few years ago, regarding the muslim festival of Eid. The links are no longer active, but it’s still a good read.

This is the quaint little time of the year when the muslim men go about hitting themselves and their sons on their heads with machetes to bring as much blood as they can produce. This is also a time for butchering sacrificial animals in the streets, usually with the kids standing by to see how it gets done in a blood-worshipping death-cult.

Joe was a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus. He loved everything about it, and was always happy to particiapte in honor guards and ceremonies, as well as watching/standing in honor at the caskets of fallen Knights. I can’t see pictures of Knights in their regalia, performing their ceremonial duties to honor Christ in the Eucharist without feeling a deep pang of loss. It was one of the things he really loved.

One event I recall in particular was on an incredibly hot July evening in southcentral Minnesota. It had been 100F for the entire afternoon, and the sun had been shining mercilessly on the little church for hours. The building was old and had no air conditioning. All the Knights who were there for the honor guard were dressed in full regalia: Tuxedo, baldric and sword, chapeau, and gloves, as well as a long, lined cape. They stood in that hot little church for two hours with only the skin of their faces exposed to the air.

After the ceremonies, when they retired to the social hall to remove their regalia, they discovered that even their capes were soaked with perspiration. Jackets were sodden with sweat, their shirts clung to them like they had been hosed down. Anything that didn’t get dry cleaned the next day showed white salt stains. He considered it a cheap price to pay for the honor of being part of the ceremony.

God bless the “Patriotic Degree” of the Knights of Columbus. If you are a member, you have my very deep respect. If you are Fourth Degree, you have my great gratitude.

I wish I had a video clip of me doing the happy-dance around my living room when I saw this, just after I saw THIS. Prayerful patience has triumphed again. Life is truly GOOD!

My Back Yard Last Winter

It’s been COLD here this last couple of weeks. The thermometers are regularly going below zero, and depending on where they are located, they are going down into the -20F range. We even set a record low temperature for the date yesterday. This means lots of heat usage. Where people in the south rely for months on their air conditioners to get them through steamy summers, the opposite holds true here. For instance, my high-efficiency furnace starts a new cycle approximately every hour. Between the gas and the electricity, my winter expenses are quite high. And we have been promised by Washington that our utilities are going to double this winter. I haven’t seen a $200 natural gas bill yet, but this will probably be the year it turns up in my mail box. Electricity is a little cheaper, but not because the politicians want it that way. Do the words, “Drill, Baby, Drill!” sound familiar to you?

When I first moved back to Alaska, my friends were astonished. Somehow, to them, moving from Minne-so-cold to Alaska didn’t make sense. Of course, their -40 plus winter temperatures and continual wind doesn’t cross their minds. I’ve heard it said before, and I will only repeat it because I’ve heard it from others, but there is something about Minnesota’s cold that makes it much harder to take than Alaska’s. Humidity? Wind? I don’t know, but I’ll take my chances in the Last Frontier, thank you. I was never so cold as I was in the years I spend in Minnesota — short of falling through the ice, and all that.

Temperatures here are expected to be low in the winter. Depending on the distance from open liquid water, it can range from Fairbanks’ dips down into the -60F range to the 40’s above in Wrangell and Ketchikan this time of year. I’ve been to Fairbanks in January when the thermometers read -63 F, and people went about their business as if it was 50 above. (the picture above is taken in Fairbanks, year unknown) They left their cars running all night, and they bundled up until they looked like bears, but they did it. The frost buildup around doors and on windows is something to see.

Here, we don’t get a lot of snow. We do get a lot of sunshine, though, believe it or not. It’s low, and not very warm, but it’s bright and cheerful, and helps make the winters feel like less of a burden. My little house has big windows that face south, so this time of year means lots of sun shining in. This is a good thing.

Seeing the sun for a few hours every day helps hold off the depression-state known as “Seasonal Affective Disorder.” We knew about this up here for years. We call it “Cabin Fever.” It means that light-deprived life forms become morose, irritable, suicidal, aggressive, and just generally not fun to be around. Unfortunately, one of the signs of depression is a desire to just stay in bed, which only makes matters worse. Being shut indoors for hours on end day after day leaves people frustrated and grouchy. Sitting by a bright window is a big help. One of our biggest guns is Vitamin D supplements. This can be a regular tablet, pill, or capsule, or it can be cod liver oil, but those of us who know about these things take it religiously, and escape the worst of the depression.

The Solstice is right around the corner. We learn to love December 21 up here. This is the low point in the sun’s position, and from this date forward, the days will lengthen. Having an increase in daylight hours is a cheering, encouraging thing for those of us whose Cabin Fever is getting the best of us. Our coldest days are usually in January and February, but we will experience them in the sunshine.

I have friends Outside who are shoveling out of early global warming drifts and chipping climate change off their windshileds every morning. Here, we don’t get enough moisture in the winter to cause much of that. What we do get takes the form of fog, which turns to hoarfrost on everything and turns it into a sugar-coated fairyland. It’s hard to be depressed by that. Another plus for living up here in the winter is that it keeps the rifraff out. It also keeps the bugs down. Tell me again that I’m nuts for moving back up here.

I’ve had the feeling for some time now that Sarah Palin is not really contemplating a run for the White House at this time, and perhaps not even later. She has said as much, that it isn’t “on the radar at this time.”

Those who accuse her of “quitting” are not thinking things through. Refusing to allow her presence to make a continual target of the office she held is not quite the same thing as “quitting.” The expense of dealing with those frivolous lawsuits came right out of the state treasury, something most people didn’t know. She was unwilling to make the taxpayers pay for protecting the Office from a spiteful personal vendetta from the left. They thought they got what they wanted when she stepped down, but I suspect they are checking their holecards right about now. My advice to leftists regarding Gov. Palin: Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it.

Sarah’s understanding of the role of the press in the election of the current resident, and knowing how to go about neutralizing their influence is incredibly astute. I suspect her little country-college journalism classes taught her a lot about how the press manipulates its readers/viewers and how to manage such manipulation.

Without a single press conference, without a single press opportunity especially called, she has outmaneuvered the leftist press on every issue since she stepped down. She has chosen her battles carefully. She has scotched their ignorant opinion-writing with class and wit, with superior ammunition and firepower. Her facebook page has over a million fans, thanks to the interview she did with Rush.

Like flicking flies, she has sent the mainstream media into a frenzied tizzy. She has an interview on Rush Limbaugh’s program, and within minutes it is being misquoted and yelled about by outraged, spittle-flinging leftists in the mainstream press. Pathetic outlets like Newsweak are reduced to “Weekly World News”-type coverage of her. She has them flummoxed. She has them rattled. She has them scrambling to try NOT to cover her. She has them losing sleep over what she will do next. I’m so glad. They take themselves way too seriously. It’s about time somebody took their arrogant posturing and showed it up to be the slapstick sycophancy it really is. Getting inside their heads is easy for someone who doesn’t worry about the things that concern beltway mouthpiece mainstream commentators. It must just drive the lefties nuts to see the kind of attention and turnout she is stimulating in the book tour.

Exposing the truth about liars and charlatans can only have a generally positive effect for the people and an excruciatingly painful effect on the left. I see it as if she was able to inject some poison ivy juice into their hand lotion. :o) (that’s a mental image that does me all kinds of good!)

It makes me laugh to see how frightened they are of her. Pray seriously for her safety. The face in the picture above is in deadly earnest. It is not the face of a flibberty-gibbet airhead from the sticks.

“It is not true that the mission of the law is to regulate our consciences, our ideas, our will, our education, our sentiments, our exchanges, our gifts, our enjoyments. Its mission is to prevent the rights of one from interfering with those of another, in any one of these things. Law, because it has force for its necessary sanction, can only have the domain of force, which is justice.” — Frederic Bastiat

I LOVE THIS BOOK!

And, if you knew how I love to mark up the books I read, you would be amazed, because I haven’t put even a faint pencil mark in a tiny corner on this little volume. As soon as I finished it, I turned it over and started it again. I wish it came in a pocket-sized version, because I would carry it in my purse to read while I’m waiting in various places.

It it so timely and topical that I am utterly astonished at how Bastiat was able to understand “modern” human nature so well. Page after page is loaded with excellence. Although I don’t believe he wrote it with his tongue in his cheek, there are quotes from earlier political philosophers that he inserts in such a way as to show them to be the ridiculous maunderings of people who had absolutely no experience with forming lasting and just governments, of the politics of forced labor, or “legal plunder,” as he calls the theft and redistribution of the fruits of human labor. “How shall this be accomplished? Why, by force, of course!” one thinker said, in so many words. “And, who shall do this forcing? I, as the one who understands it all, shall, of course!” (This is a paraphrase, but each of the quotes has similar sentiments)

It is only 55 pages long, and another six or so for an index. But in this case, I am here to state unequivocally that SIZE DOES NOT MATTER. Get this little book, from any publisher who has it. I got mine from Ludwig Von Mises Institute, for six dollars. (I stole this book! It is WORTH a fortune!)

Oh. Did I tell you I love this book?